Keeping Fit During The Holidays

Holidays, ahhhhh how ballerinas look forward to them! A well deserved rest from a hard term's work of dance. It also gives your feet a chance to rest from those stiff pointe shoes.

But don't you worry that you'll get all 'out of shape,' for those few weeks you aren't dancing? Well, here's a plan.

Yes, you obviously deserve that rest. Your body need it, too. It gives you something to look forward to, and a chance for your body to recover. However, you don't want to get all unfit.

For the first week of these holidays, I let myself just sit back and relax. Then it was time to get into action. I strapped my pointe shoes on every day this week, and practiced for about twenty minutes to half an hour.

Now, that's not long or anything, but it keeps your feet in shape, so you don't go downhill during your few weeks off.

Also, I've done a bit of stretching. No more than five or so minutes a day, but it keeps those tendons working, so I can still do whatever I need to when I get back to class next week.

Thanks for reading/commenting, everyone!

P.S:

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Thanks again.

Sort Of On Holidays : )

Hi Followers,

I guess that since last Thursday I have sort of been on holidays from ballet. Well, I danced through the holidays, but I've got until Saturday off!
However, I'm going to be very temped to strap my pointe shoes on and do a bit of pointe this afternoon.

I think that I'll also do about an hour of stretching today. You know how you sometimes just get that feeling that you really need to stretch? Well that's how I feel right now!

You know how last time I posted, I said that there was a girl who was dancing with me, just for the holidays? Well, it turns out that she now lives in Alice Springs and is dancing with a company up there!
I felt really privileged to be in a class with somebody dancing at that higher standard, even if it was only for four lessons.

My ballet teacher is really great, too. I know that I have already said this, but she really is. She danced with the Australian Ballet for a few years, then came here and started teaching.

One thing that my teacher said that I really had to work on was, strangely enough, my arms. It's true that when you are doing a hard exercises that your arms/fingers will show it.
My teacher said that when I am working really hard, my thumbs stick up! Then after thirty seconds or so, my arms start to droop, especially in second position.

So, you may thing, well, just change it and do it properly. That's when I've been trying to do, but it's SOOOO hard. You will not believe how hard it is. Like ..... seriously!
I have been working on them in the last four lessons I have had with her, but still, my arms droop all the time!

My teacher said that it's just practice, practice, practice. She game me some pieces of paper to hold between my thumb and palm. That helped, but I'm still working on it. My goal is that by the end of the year to have perfect hands!

Thanks for reading/commenting, everyone! I will be back to post again, soon - I promise!

It's Official - I'm the worst person at keeping my blog posts up to date. In the universe!

Hay All,

Sorry - I never seem to blog anymore. I have actually been really busy at the moment.
However, I went back to ballet on Monday. The next day, my thigh muscles were SOOOOOOO sore. I know that I stretched heaps in the holidays, but still - they ached!

After ballet on Wednesday, I showed my teacher how close I was to doing the splits. Pretty close! I simply can't wait until I can do them properly. I guess you have just got to stretch, stretch, stretch!!!

Thanks for reading/commenting!

10 Days To Go!

Mom ordered my ballet stockings today. I have obviously got some, but they are full of holes and are not nearly fit for an exam.
My teacher said that my leotard is OK, so that's good.
We still have to get ribbons for my flat ballet shoes, hair net, bobby pins and.....yep....., I think that's all!

I have been practicing the splits a lot, but I know that I won't be able to do them by the time the exam comes around. Only ten days time! I am SO nervous.
I keep telling my self that I will be just fine, I know all my exercises and can do them all really well. It doesn't stop me feeling nervous, though!

The foundation ballet class on Friday went well. We had it in a smaller hall, just down the road from the one that I usually do ballet in. I know I have said this before, but.....foundation is REALLY hard, even though is's fun!
After doing intermediate foundation for one and a half years, it is nice to have a change. I am kind of getting a little bored of the exercises!

Yesterday, we had to have ballet at the "Little Hall" (as I like to call it) again. The building attached to the "Big Hall" had gone up (or should I say down) in flames just a couple of nights before.
There was nothing wrong with the "Big Hall" but it had a "Do not cross" sign up, so we obviously couldn't dance there! Poor old hall!

So.....back to stretching, and getting ready for the exam. I think I will go and ride the exercise bike now. 7 kilometres.....maybe 10???